Join award-winning author and former ASF Fellow Nancy Marie Brown for a talk about her newest book, a richly textured narrative that brings to life the intrigue and power struggles in medieval Reykjavík that Icelandic bard Snorri Sturluson inhabited. Drawing on her deep knowledge of Icelandic history and first-hand reading of the original medieval sources, Brown produces a richly textured narrative of a world that continues to fascinate.

Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths, Book Talk with Nancy Marie BrownMuch like Greek and Roman mythology, Norse myths are still with us. Famous storytellers from J.R.R. Tolkien to Neil Gaiman have drawn their inspiration from the long-haired, mead-drinking, marauding, and pillaging Vikings. Their creator is Snorri Sturluson.

Like Homer, Snorri was a bard, collecting and embellishing the folklore and pagan legends of medieval Scandinavia. Unlike Homer, Snorri was a man of the world—a wily political power player, one of the richest men in Iceland who came close to ruling it, and even closer to betraying it.

About Nancy Marie Brown:

Nancy Marie Brown is the author of highly-praised books of nonfiction, including The Abacus and the Cross and The Far Traveler.

Formerly the editor of the award-winning magazine Research/Penn State, Brown lives in Vermont. Her blog is nancymariebrown.blogspot.com.

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Photo by the American-Scandinavian Foundation

MON – 12-3-2012 – 6:30 PM
free